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May 2008

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Originally Posted by Shawn

I disagree about Troy and Harrison. Both are likely done unless they are willing to take a pay cut.

Completely agree. Troy has no explosion and harriosn acn't turn the corner on an OT anymore. Sure you may get one more good year from either but why pay that much for "just one more?" If they don't take paycuts they should be gone or traded.

IMO Kiesel will take the vet minimum to stay a Steeler. His 40 QB pressures led the team. If not for our system he may have had more sacks than the fading Harriosn or Woodley.

Dump Hampton and play McLendon. So we are #7 against the run versus #1, big deal

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If we're talking strictly defense, I would say Hampton is gone and 50/50 with Harrison, I don't see any other defensive starters cut beside those two. I would love to keep James but Keenan is the priority and we need to find room to sign him.
Letting Harrison go would almost make OLB a priority in the draft, hoping we get a good one if that happens

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No explosion with Troy and Harrison evidently was getting trucked late in the season and yet the Steeler defense was beginning to dominate games unlike any other time during the season. I've read the technical aspects of JH getting turned out in holes, no push, a step late, etc, etc, but somehow with him and Troy on the field and healthy the defense was giving up very few points and had it not been for an offense that couldn't get out of its own way the Steelers would have won an extra game or two and been in the playoffs.

If you want cut JH and TP because of financial reasons, that's fine, but saying they weren't playing up to snuff, getting pushed around just wasn't what I was seeing visually. Now, I don't watch games like people that have played football past 9th grade, because I didn't play past 9th grade. I watch and simply see what's happening and what I saw at the end of the year was a defense coming on strong and starting to be a force. TP and JH went into this off season healthy and without issue.

My guess is the Steelers are trying not to purge all at once, but maybe 2 or 3 more vets this year and then a few more next year, work young players and rookies into the mix and stay competitive while doing so. I just don't get the "cut the vets and suck for two years" thinking. If its possible to keep them, they're better than anything on the bench or in the draft.

Pappy

The referee said that you hit Brian Sipe too hard. Did you hit him too hard?
I hit him as hard as I could - Jack Lambert

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Originally Posted by papillon

No explosion with Troy and Harrison evidently was getting trucked late in the season and yet the Steeler defense was beginning to dominate games unlike any other time during the season. I've read the technical aspects of JH getting turned out in holes, no push, a step late, etc, etc, but somehow with him and Troy on the field and healthy the defense was giving up very few points and had it not been for an offense that couldn't get out of its own way the Steelers would have won an extra game or two and been in the playoffs.

If you want cut JH and TP because of financial reasons, that's fine, but saying they weren't playing up to snuff, getting pushed around just wasn't what I was seeing visually. Now, I don't watch games like people that have played football past 9th grade, because I didn't play past 9th grade. I watch and simply see what's happening and what I saw at the end of the year was a defense coming on strong and starting to be a force. TP and JH went into this off season healthy and without issue.

My guess is the Steelers are trying not to purge all at once, but maybe 2 or 3 more vets this year and then a few more next year, work young players and rookies into the mix and stay competitive while doing so. I just don't get the "cut the vets and suck for two years" thinking. If its possible to keep them, they're better than anything on the bench or in the draft.

Pappy

The Steelers defense was playing well as a unit and the CB play was a large part of the success this year. Harrison & Polamalu on the field didn't make it great, it didn't make it significantly better, they had a presence. The Harrison & Polamalu we have seen in the past made the defense great because they even stood out. Neither of them stood out last year. I think Troy is safe. For this year.

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The defense started out the year looking really bad. Harrison, Keisel, Hampton, Taylor and Mundy looked old and slow at the beginning and of course Troy was hurt. Then the steelers defense improved dramatically when they took Mundy out of the starting lineup, inserted Will Allen at FS and moved Clark to SS. Clark became an animal and the defense played really well. They took a step back when Troy moved back into the lineup and Clark went back to FS. That lasted until Troy was back in game shape.

The problem with older players is you don't know how long it is going to take to get their engines up to full speed at the beginning of the year and once they do preventing them from breaking down. It's a balancing act that the Steelers Front Office usually handles well.

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I believe Harrison made a mistake by getting surgery so close to the start of the regular season. Having it sooner and he would of recovered earlier. Aside from that I still think it's 50/50 with James and no way do they cut Troy.
Has anyone figured what the Steelers would save by cutting Hampton, releasing Starks, Foster, and Colon?
I would love to keep James but the business might not allow it especially if we want to sign Keenan Lewis, we just have to hope we hit it right in the draft @ OLB if James does get cut.

The problem I see with Harrison is he is unwilling to take a pay cut, that leaves the Steelers with very limited options, in order to be under the cap enough to sign others and their draft picks. Teams like Cincy and the Colts have so much cap room it makes us look like Po Folks, so we got some challenges ahead.

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Agreed. I still think is INSANE that people are talking about cutting either and are 100% serious when doing so. Neither player is done and as you said Troy still has plenty left in the tank.

Yeah Troy probably does have 4 more years of missing 1/4 of each season and playing at 80% or less another 1/4 of each season. I think if he is unable to go he isn't worth his big contract, thus the reason folks would feel comfortable cutting him. If he takes half pay to stay then of course that would work as well.